22Nov13

Six Islamist factions unite in largest Syria rebel merger

The six largest Islamist rebel factions in Syria declared a new Islamic Front on
Thursday, forming the largest alliance of opposition fighters yet in the
2-1/2-year conflict.

Syria's fractious rebel forces have tried many times to unify their ranks and
failed. Islamist rebel commanders, in a video aired on al Jazeera, said their
new union would not only seek to oust President Bashar al-Assad but establish
an Islamic state.

"This independent political, military and social formation aims to topple the
Assad regime completely and build an Islamic state where the sovereignty of
God almighty alone will be our reference and ruler," said Ahmed Eissa, who
heads the Suqour al-Sham brigades.

The merger undermines the secular Free Syrian Army (FSA) leadership, once
seen as a symbolic umbrella leadership for all the rebels but weakened by
infighting and defections.

It could also challenge the ascendance of al Qaeda-linked factions who have
grown increasingly powerful as other rebel groups are weakened.

Among the main groups that joined the front are powerful, countrywide forces
such as Ahrar al-Sham, Suqour al-Sham and Islamic Army. The Tawhid
Brigade, which spearheaded the August 2012 offensive that saw rebels take
large swathes of the city of Aleppo and other parts northern Syria, was another
leading member. The groups are not seen as being as hardline as the
Qaeda-linked rebels.

[Source: Reuters, Beirut, 22Nov13]

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